RECIPE: Bitter Greens with Sweet Onions and Tart Cheese

from The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Mollie Katzen

Note: I recommend a combination of kale, escarole or chard, and mustard greens to collaborate with the pungent flavor of the cheese.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups sliced onion (a sweet variety, such as Vidalia, if available)

3 large bunches fresh greens, stemmed if necessary, and coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)

Salt, to taste

Up to 1 cup feta cheese or ricotta salata, crumbled

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onions and sauté over high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and let the onions cook until very tender, about 10 more minutes.

2. Add the greens in batches, sprinkling very lightly with salt after each addition and turning them with tongs, bringing up the wilted ones from the bottom to the top of the pile.

3. When all the greens have wilted, stir in the cheese, and cook for just about 2 minutes longer.

4. Transfer to a platter and grind on a generous amount of black pepper. Serve hot or warm, on or next to pasta or grains, or by itself.

Submitted by Ann Tilley

Ann’s notes: This is one of our very favorite things to do with all the varieties of bitter greens we get from Chubby Bunny, plus it uses feta for those with the cheese share. Use caution salting the greens if you are using feta which can be quite salty. We have found this to be delicious using any kind of onions we have on hand including red onions.